Got a Speeding Ticket today

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I'm mad but I don't know at who.
How can I be mad at myself, I'm a good driver.

I was driving in a 45 MPH area.
Further up ahead (1/2 mile) the speed is 55 MPH.
This is a big radar stretch of road. People pulled over all the time.
I wasn't in a hurry (had all day) and if I knew I was speeding, I would have slowed down.

Well, the Radar Officer must have been in the 45 MPH area (just before the 55).
They got me going 57 MPH in a 45.

I know this has been discussed before. Could not find using Search.
I took the Defensive Driving Class 5 Months ago.
No other Tickets.

I will have to educate myself on Points, pleading down, dealing with Insurance Co.

I have the option of returning the Ticket by mail or in person.

I thought I read on this site about hiring a Lawyer.
Is that possible at low cost ? ? ?
Would I still have to appear in Court with all the looser (now I'm one of them) ? ? ?

Any advise would be appreciated.
And careful driving.
 
How fast were you actually going? I take it you were going 57 MPH in a 45 MPH zone. Is that right? Pay the ticket. Drive the speed limit. It isn't rocket science.
 
Plead not guilt, go to court, have a conversation with the officer or officer assigned that day and plead it down.
 
He got you with a radar gun @ 57 in 45 mph zone? I think you'd be wasting money with an attorney. I have a feeling you'll lose. I would try on my own to plead it down, you never know.

I was in a similar situation several years ago heading to Whidbey Island near Deception Pass. The speed limits change quite often, and if you miss the speed limit sign you're screwed. I got pulled over doing 45 in a 30 zone [?] at 0200. As it turns out the cop was a nice guy and moved there from Long Island several years ago. He cut me a break, and said he was really looking for drunken sailors.
 
If you were actually going the speed limit then by all means you should fight the ticket.

If you were speeding then use it as an expensive lesson. Do I understand that, from your post you have also recently had another ticket? If so, maybe it's time to really evaluate your driving skills.
 
If traffic routinely flows through that area at 55-60 mph or more I'd contest it. You might find they toss it out. I've contested 3 tickets over 40 years that were basically bogus speed traps and 2 of them were tossed out before even getting to court. If you show up in court there's a reasonable chance it will get plead down at least one stage and save you $50-$100, assuming you can afford a couple hours off that day.

I had a similar experience to yours 10 years ago in my 1998 Z28 where I went through a 55 mph zone at 67 mph. Thing is, 98% of traffic goes through that region at 60-85 mph every day. And they got me driving by myself on a Sunday morning. In fact the trooper passed me 10 miles earlier and waited for me....lol. He only wrote the ticket for 62 mph but I was still not happy with it. The following week I responded dutifully on my daily commutes by driving through that 2 mile stretch of 2 lane "super-highway" at 55 mph from Monday through Friday. I was passed by dozens of cars every day, in both directions. I was the only car doing under 60 mph. I was an impediment to the safe flow of traffic while doing 55 mph. I felt very unsafe. But, I sure wasn't going to risk a 2nd ticket in just 1 week. People were on my butt and I was stacking cars along the way. Though contested, I ended up having to pay the ticket. In my mind if 98% of traffic flow routinely exceeds the limit, the limit is set wrong.

I still go through that area at 60-67 mph....but I always insure there are several cars right ahead of me going faster....or I drive 55 mph. It's a dense patch of road during rush hour commutes with possibly 100-200 cars on that 2 mile stretch at peak hours. And everyone is flying. If felt strange to be the only car out of hundreds doing the speed limit. Even the grannies passed by me.
 
Originally Posted By: 99Saturn
Plead not guilt, go to court, have a conversation with the officer or officer assigned that day and plead it down.


+1 - if your record is pretty clean then do as suggested. You will still pay a fine & court costs, but typically you get something like "not following posted road signs", which is a fine but no points.

If you cannot work things out and get some points, then wait until adjudication and then take the NY approved Def. Driving Course (its online also). That gives you 10% off on comp/collision insurance and removes 3 points from your license.

If you get points, when you go to renew insurance just ignore the renewal questionnaire. They will still renew as they want your money. If they want to check DMV they can but they probably won't. They have to pay DMV for the info.
 
If you took a court mandated defensive driving course only 5 months ago...you're screwed.
 
In Maryland you go to court and often the officer may not show up. They will throw it out if that is the case. If not plead it down if you can.
 
Congratulations ...youve discovered it is not about safety but a revenue stream. In some places like Miami you can literally go to any corner ticket office and pay $70 AND BE DONE WITH IT. If there are any of that type near you they'll be in the yellow pages. Typically they will request calibration records for the radar system that was used so if they are not presented you win.
 
OP here.

Just to clarify:

1.) I've NO other Tickets in 20 years.
2.) The Defensive Driving Class I took was ONLY for Insurance Discount.
3.) Area was Western NY
 
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Originally Posted By: 99Saturn
Plead not guilt, go to court, have a conversation with the officer or officer assigned that day and plead it down.


Exactly......they just want your MONEY....they have no interest in your insurance going up.......it's all about REVENUE....

PS: With your clean record I can almost guarantee they will reduce it to about $60 plus the $100 mandated state fee...but no points....This way the locality makes money...the state makes money...and you are happy to have a clean license.


PS: The thing about the trooper not showing up and the ticket getting tossed is no longer true in NYS..(it used to be) but not any longer...they were losing too much REVENUE....
 
Hi Larry, fellow New Yorker here.

Plead not guilty and request a supporting deposition to buy yourself some time. There should be a section on the ticket for that.

Then, contact the court and find out how it's handled and who will be prosecuting the case. Write a very nice letter to that person explaining your good driving record and desire to plea it down to a non-moving violation. Send this letter with Restricted Delivery and Signature Confirmation so it goes to the right person and you have record of it.

Edit: be sure to make yourself a copy of the ticket before sending it in.
 
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Originally Posted By: larryinnewyork
OP here.

Just to clarify:

1.) I've NO other Tickets in 20 years.
2.) The Defensive Driving Class I took was ONLY for Insurance Discount.
3.) Area was Western NY


Radar is hard to beat. Pay the ticket and do what you can to minimize the effect on your insurance. Statistically-you were WAY OVERDUE for a ticket. It's just the way it is....
 
These are options in Texas.

If you took defensive driving for an insurance discount only, your course completion does not appear on your driving record and you can take it again to have the citation dismissed.

You can obtain deferred adjudication which means you pay the fine and as long as you don't receive another citation in a specified period of time (90 days here) it doesn't appear on your driving record.

Either way the municipality gets its money. I honestly think that they KNOW the issuing of speeding citations does zilch toward improving road safety. There are so many more driving behaviors that are horrible, but they won't enforce them because it's hard and there's not enough money in it.
 
Originally Posted By: CKN
Originally Posted By: larryinnewyork
OP here.

Just to clarify:

1.) I've NO other Tickets in 20 years.
2.) The Defensive Driving Class I took was ONLY for Insurance Discount.
3.) Area was Western NY


Radar is hard to beat. Pay the ticket and do what you can to minimize the effect on your insurance. Statistically-you were WAY OVERDUE for a ticket. It's just the way it is....


I've only got one speeding ticket in my record. I wasn't speeding at the time and the officer gave me a ticket that read something along the lines of, "not obeying the posted speed limit," with no actual speed listed. There was a line of cars ahead of me, all of whom braked from just over the speed limit to we'll below the limit when we saw the trooper parked in a pretty conspicuous spot. I'd been picking up KA pings for a while before then even.

Anyway, when I showed up for the first court appearance, there was no plea-down offered, since what I was given was pretty much the minimum. I chose to go before a judge and use my clean record as a sort of shield. Big mistake.

There was a prosecutor there, who basically called me a bald-faced liar for claiming that I was doing the speed limit, as if anyone ever REALLY does the speed limit. After answering the prosecutor's question about whether I was really doing the speed limit, the judge informed me that the officer, who showed up, was trained in the use of the radar gun and that the radar gun was in calibration on the day I was pulled over, constituting a preponderance of evidence. This meant that the only thing that would have exonerated me would be video proof. I didn't really have time to get more than a few words in before being shoo'd away.

I wasted so much time, because everyone told me to fight it, because:

1. The cop wouldn't show and the case would be thrown out and

2. My record was clean and the offense (not obeying posted speed limit) was really light.

Nope.
 
So that would be a 12 over ticket?

It'll vary by area but in my state if you are 10 over posted then the ticket is merely a financial penalty and it doesn't count as points against your record. It still goes on the record books but is supposed to drop off after 3 years.

If your ticket ends up counting as points against your DMV record then you should either find a good way to prove your innocence, take driving school, or hire a lawyer.

On my last ticket I pursued a deferred adjudication which required a 6 month probation period where I kept my nose clean. In the end I had to pay the original fine plus court fees and my lawyer fee but the incident never went on record. For context the original ticket fine was $177 and I paid out right around $1000 with the route I took. Yes it's a lot of money but I value a clean record above all else.

Oh and the last recommendation I have:

Valentine One Radar Detector
 
Guilty til innocent.. Tax collectors. As if we dont pay enough.. They set low speed limits to catch more ppl not always because its safer.. Im sick of this nickel and dimming. I got caught for similar, contesting is not worth my time.. If you have time off or can get it without losing salary i say contest it.
 
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